


Beyond the Sea

by Ariella1941



Series: In The Shadow of Empires [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic, star wars legends: old republic era
Genre: F/M, POV First Person, Plot, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-18
Updated: 2016-04-18
Packaged: 2018-06-02 23:26:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6587446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ariella1941/pseuds/Ariella1941
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Theron meets a new contact on Manaan as Aryelle and Kira descend into a genetics lab far beneath Manaan's oceans in search of Colonel Darok and Darth Arkous.</p><p>And a deeper connection between Aryelle and Theron begins to make itself felt.</p><p>Shadow of Revan Era</p>
            </blockquote>





	Beyond the Sea

_Theron Shan_

Sifting through the data I managed to put together from the Korriban and Tython attacks wasn’t difficult, just time consuming. Darok hadn’t turned over the data taken from the Dark Council Chamber to the SIS, but no one upstairs was making any noise about it, which made me wonder just how far this might go.

The good Colonel himself was keeping a low profile, spending a lot of time at his desk. He did make two intelligence requests, however. “Isotope-5 Proliferation and Deployment in the Empire”, which made sense since the bombs that were used against Tython were the first hint the Imps had weaponized the stuff. And “Known Smugglers: Inner Rim”, which was a list of several thousand names of smugglers SIS could confirm were working the Inner Rim territories. I couldn’t find any connection to Tython or Korriban, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t one.

The big break happened when Darok left Coruscant. I managed to tail him without being caught, so when we reached the Colonel’s final destination, I felt confident enough to bring in my new friend.

Sent just one word:

Manaan.

* * *

 

Seeing Aryelle again was… I’m not sure what it was. But somehow I managed to stay professional as she entered the conference room.

“You’ve got a gift for perfect timing,” I said.

“What are you doing here, Theron?” she asked me, sounding concerned.

“Digging, just like I said I would,” I told her as I gestured to a holoprojector, “Let me show you what I’ve got so far. “

Picking up a datapad from the table, I punched in a couple of commands and the projector obediently displayed a holo of Darok.

“The good Colonel here put together the attack on Korriban,” I said, “supposedly to gather important intelligence data, none of which has been turned over to the SIS.” Another couple commands and Darok was replaced by an image of a true blooded Sith, “this is the Sith you spoke to on Tython. Darth Arkous. Member of the Dark Council and organizer of the attack on the Jedi Temple.”

I watched her study the holo for a moment, then she gave an absent nod and looked at me.

“You found a connection between them?”

“Yes, they’ve both been paying visits to the same genetics lab, in an underwater facility here on Manaan,” I told her, and I couldn’t keep the satisfaction out of my voice as I said, “they’re headed down there as we speak.”

“So, some kind of medical treatment facility? Experimental research? Something else?”

“There’s no documentation for the lab’s purpose, but traffic in and out is mostly freight, not passenger.  So it’s probably research—which fits my other findings,” I replied as I got to the bad news. “With Darok and Arkous working together, the timing of the attacks makes perfect sense. They weren’t really attacks at all—they were robberies.”

“The package Arkous referred to,” she said, sounding disgusted.

“Got it in one, Master Jedi. The Imps hauled it out of the Temple just before you got there. A few security holos were still working, so I got a shot of it,” I explained as Aryelle gestured for me to continue. “You remember Commander Jensyn? He grabbed something similar on Korriban.”

Aryelle looked at me for a moment, that strange glow in the back of her eyes. “Drop the other shoe, Theron.”

I nodded then said, “I ran the images through some databases—they were pieces of ancient Rakata technology.”

She made a frustrated sound. “As in, technology from the ruthless empire that conquered the galaxy before the founding of the Republic? I’ve run into it before on Tatooine and Belsavis, it’s nothing to be taken lightly.”

“Yeah, so you understand my concern,” I agreed as I walked over to the main console, “I’m pretty sure that Darok and Arkous brought their new toys to the lab, but you’re going to have to go in and figure out exactly what they’re doing with it.” I tapped a couple commands in, and smiled in satisfaction. “There. I arranged transport to get you in, but security will probably come after you with more than just smiles.”

I heard Aryelle mutter something under her breath. I couldn’t make out most of it, but I swore I heard her say: ‘underwater… lovely.’

“While you’re searching the lab, I’m going to meet with one last contact. I think she might have some interesting intel for us.”

“She?”

I shook my head, not wanting to risk a potential complication. “You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you. Good luck down there,” I said, then looked at her for a long moment, and found myself feeling surprisingly protective. It was stupid considering everything Aryelle had accomplished, but the feeling was there.

She nodded then turned to leave, but before she could go, I said, “be careful, Aryelle.”

“You too, Theron,” she replied, giving me a warm smile.

As she walked out the door I tried to regain some of my professional detachment. I was usually good at keeping my personal life and my professional one separate. In fact, I was probably _too_ good, in that I didn’t _have_ much of a personal life. Now though, it was a struggle to keep my personal feelings in check, and I found myself wondering if that was really a bad thing.

* * *

 

_Aryelle Thrace_

“You okay there, Boss?” Kira asked me as we made our way to the facility’s first security checkpoint.

“I’m fine,” I lied, “why?”

“Because you’re doing this really unattractive shade of white at the moment,” she told me, “so is there something I should know about?”

I sighed. Jedi Masters are supposed to have better control than this, but I couldn’t quite keep the fear at bay. “I just don’t like the idea of being underwater is all.”

Kira blinked then laughed, “you’re afraid of water?”

I stopped and glared at her. “Not at all, but this isn’t a bathtub or pool we’re talking about. We’re going to be several kilometers below the surface, and I have a rational— _very rational_ —concern about it.”

Kira studied me for a moment then said, “The Selkath know what they’re doing, Aryelle. The lab’s completely safe.” She stopped then added, “okay, it's safe as in a ‘we’re not going to drown’ kind of way, not safe in 'the bad guys doing bad things we need to stop' way.”

“Thanks for that clarification, Kira,” I told her.

She was right about that, really. That lab would have been built with safety standards as high as any top of the line starship. Knowing that didn’t help much against the atavistic chill I felt, and I found myself hoping to run into the bad guys doing bad things as quickly as possible.

* * *

 

We’d cut through two checkpoints when Theron contacted us with an update.

“Interesting,” he said, his voice slightly tinny over the com. “I’m seeing records of a prisoner here. Someone named Jakarro. I bet he could share some interesting stories with us… Looks like my contact’s here. The chief of security’s straight ahead, so be careful Aryelle.”

“Hey, what about ‘be careful Kira’? I’m putting my neck on the line too you know,” I heard Kira mutter as we rounded the corner to find the chief and two riot control droids waiting. Along with a rather irate looking Wookie in a force cage.

The Selkath security man had some tricks I hadn’t seen before, but against two Jedi, they weren’t enough to save him. As he went down I felt a little twist in my stomach.

A long time ago Master Satele told me that every death affects the Living Force, and the one who did the killing. I’d learned the truth of that several times over, and that slight sick feeling was a reminder that I was grateful for. The day I stop feeling that is the day I hang up my lightsabers.

I motioned for Kira to work her magic on the computer terminal just as another security squad blundered into us. They dropped quickly and I heard the Wookie say:

“It’s our lucky day, droid! Convince these saps to let us out of here!’

I looked at the Wookie and realized that the metallic flashes I’d seen out the corner of my eye during the fight weren’t decoration, but the head of a droid attached to crossed bandoliers.   And that head seemed to be fully functional.

“Uh… Greetings! My master compliments your impressive skill, and would like to share his appreciation for this noble rescue!”

It also seemed the droid was used to cleaning up after his master…verbally speaking.

I raised an eyebrow and looked at the Wookie. “Jakarro, I presume? You don’t need to convince us ‘saps’ of anything. We’re here to break you out… among other things.”

“Fine, just release us and we can slaughter the rest of these backstabbers together!” the Wookie howled, and a small part of me wondered if maybe it was better just to leave him where he was.

“Before I let you out, what are the two of you even doing here? You’re logged as a prisoner, but why?”

The droid answer before the Wookie, “My esteemed master is a specialist in discreet cargo delivery. I am his translator, C2 D4, former servant of her Imminence, Queen Lina of…”

“Ugh,” Kira said from the console, “He’s worse than C2-N4!”

Jakarro had a similar sentiment.

“No one cares, droid! Get to the point,” his master growled.

“Uhm… yes, well, Jakarro was contracted by a Selkath geneticist, Gorima, to deliver certain medical equipment—perfectly legal! – to this facility,” the droid told us, “but once the delivery was made, we were imprisoned and interrogated by two very unpleasant individuals!”   

“Let me guess… a Republic officer and a Sith?”

“They wanted to know whether or not we had told others about the job. Insulting!” Jakarro replied.

“We were never introduced,” C2-D4 replied, “very rude, to be perfectly honest. After the interrogation, they told Gorima to use us for fodder in some kind of experiment!”

“You guys do know how lucky you are, right?” Kira asked as she leaned against the console. It seems she had the same thought I did about how advisable it might be to let the Wookie out. “Sith don’t usually take prisoners, so this experiment must be a big deal.”

“The possibilities are… troubling, to say the least,” D4 commented.

I checked my com, then said, “Theron, you getting all this?”

“Yeah, and their story checks out—just did a little digging on these two. Charges against them both for smuggling, disorderly conduct, assault…”

Kira and I looked at each other, and I just had to ask:

“Even the droid?”

“Yeah,” Theron replied, sounding confused, “Why do you ask?” And then I remembered we didn’t have a visual pickup this time out.

“Nevermind,” I said in as bland a voice as I could manage while Kira turned away in an attempt to keep a straight face.

“Well, whatever they may have done, my contact has a good feeling about them—thinks they might come in handy. Let’s see if she’s right,” he deadpanned, and I had to wonder who this person was for Theron to go on a ‘good feeling’.

I glanced back at Kira, who’d gotten herself under control. “If you’d do the honors?”

“Sure thing, Master.” And with a few simple keystrokes the force field was down, though I still had reservations about the whole thing.

“All right,” I told Jakarro as he leapt from the cage platform, “we’re in this together, you understand.”

He gave me what I thought was an indignant look and said:

“I will secure my weapons and meet you! Revenge will be ours!”

He turned and as he stalked off I heard D4 shout, “Thank you!”

Kira walked up beside me and said, “Real charmers aren’t they?”

“I’m going to ascribe the lack of manners to the fact they’d been stuck in a cage,” I replied and turned to eye the elevator which lead to the lab proper. “Into the deep we go.”

* * *

 

The descent felt like forever, and as the elevator doors opened, Theron’s voice buzzed in my ear.

“Hold up a sec,” he said, “I’ve been slicing the facility’s files, and I keep finding references to the Order of Shasa, some type of Force-using Selkath. They aren’t Jedi or Sith. I’m still not sure how they fit into this, so be careful.”

“We will,” I replied, as Kira looked at me.

“Well, that’s just nifty,” she said wryly, “but on the other hand, Super Spy’s turning out to be pretty useful. Can we keep him?”

I felt myself flush as her comment conjured some very interesting and un-Jedi-like possibilities.

_Focus Aryelle!_

“Don’t call him that,” is all I said as I strode down the hall. “Let’s get this over with.”

“You got it, Boss,” Kira replied, sounding somewhat concerned, and I knew she was only tabling the subject of Theron for the moment.

* * *

 

The Order of Shasa turned out to be extremely proficient Force Sensitive fanatics. What they were fanatical about, I couldn’t tell you, but they threw themselves at us with abandon, which worried me, especially combined with Darok, Arkous, and unknown experiments with Rakata tech.

Not to mention I was still stuck several kilometers under Manaan’s ocean.

Some days it just doesn’t pay to get out of bed.

* * *

 

“You feel that?” Kira asked me and I nodded.

We stood before a security door that, if the schematics Theron had found were accurate, led to Gorima’s lab. So the fact I felt the Dark Side surge from within was worrying to say the least.

A new voice came over the com circuit, female with a clipped Dromund Kaas accent.

“Greetings, I know we haven’t met in person, but your associate asked me to contact you while he was busy with his scanning equipment,” the voice said, “apparently he’s picking up powerful energy readings from Gorima’s laboratory, readings consistent with Rakata technology. Theron and I agree this is a dangerous sign. Whatever is going on in that lab, please do your best to stop it.”

I shut the com channel down as Kira opened her mouth, and I knew what was coming.

“That’s Super Spy’s contact? Little Miss Imperial?” she said through gritted teeth, “really?”

“One thing at a time, Kira,” I replied, feeling resigned as I reached for the security override, “one thing at a time.”

And with what we saw on the other side of that door, all other concerns fled.

I’d seen the fruits of the Republic’s Power Guard program first hand. It had been one of the most advanced combat cybernetics programs in the galaxy. What was on Gorima’s lab table made the Power Guards look like toy soldiers. The cyborg was also the locus of the Dark Side’s presence, and the potential implications were nothing short of terrifying.

“Are you Gorima?” I asked the Selkath who was leaning over the table.

“I am, and I’m never going to finish with so many interruptions! Go back to Darok and tell him to stop pestering me!” he replied absently, then looked up. “You aren’t one of Darok’s people. An intruder then. What do you want?”

“I want to know what this… abomination is, and what it has to do with what Darok and Arkous are planning.”

“Not abominations,” Gormina corrected me and gestured to the Selkath on the table, “an army, or at least the first recruits. Rakata technology is self-repairing. Quite marvelous to observe, though quite fatal when implanted into living hosts without my special treatment process. Once the implants are accepted by the host tissue, they work in unison. Enhancing strength, repairing damage… the perfect soldier.”

“Where have we heard _that_ before?” Kira muttered, but before either of us could say anything more, Jakarro arrived.

“There you are!’ the Wookie howled as he brought up his bowcaster, “Time to learn the cost for crossing Jakarro, eel!”

Gorima brought up both hands, either in defense or an attempt to placate Jakarro. “Please,” he said,” it was nothing personal! You have to understand—you’re such an impressive specimen.”

“What are you waiting for?” D4 said, “Do it before he has a chance to betray us again!”

 _That_ explained the assault charges…

I stepped between the three of them, placing myself firmly in Jakarro’s sights.

“Enough, Jakarro. You’re better than this,” I told him as I looked straight into his eyes.

He put up his weapon and growled, “fine, we play things your way, but if he even looks at me again…”

The Wookie’s rant was cut off by the loud hiss, as an observation port opened in the far wall, and standing together were Arkous and Darok, looking somewhat smug.

“Well,” Darok said conversationally, “that explains the dead guards.”

Arkous nodded, “I knew I sensed someone familiar.”

“I told you to let it go,” Darok said to me, “You did your part—none of this concerns you.”

I just looked at the two of them, feeling something akin to pity.

“You really don’t know me very well, do you Darok?” I replied, “you thought I’d listen to you? After everything?”

“This just proves what I’ve always said, Master,” Kira added, “there’ll never be a shortage of stupid people in the galaxy. Which makes our jobs easier… and harder I suppose?”

“You don’t even know what you’re interfering with,” Darok shot back, and I felt that same indecent glee he felt after Korriban.

“Gorima?” Darth Arkous nodded to the Selkath scientist, “thank you for forwarding the research data along—our Infinite Army will serve us well. You can keep the prototypes.”

Then the Sith Lord reach out to press a button on the console in front of him, and the lab shuttered as the hatch to the observation port closed.

“Out! Now!” I shouted as I used the Force to keep the security door from sealing us in. Kira grabbed Gorima by the collar of his lab coat and dragged him away from his ‘prototype’ as an explosion tore through the facility and water came rushing in.

We were out in the hallways, heading toward the elevator to the surface when Theron’s mysterious new associate contacted us.

“Hello again,” she said, “I’m afraid all the emergency pods have been ejected and the hatches back to the facility’s entrance sealed. Fortunately, I… procured a small watercraft for such an eventuality. The autopilot should have it docked at a hatch nearby shortly.”

“’Shortly’ might be a little bit long as far as we’re concerned,” Kira shouted over the rush of water as she shoved Gomira along.

I was about to remind her of our earlier conversation when it hit me.

The cyborg was awake, and he was _angry._

And I wasn’t the only one who sensed it.

“Their cyborg champion is after you!” the woman said, sounding slightly agitated, “I can feel its power from here. It’s considerable.”

She can _feel_ …?

If I survived this, Theron and I were going to have a conversation.

Another explosion tore Gomira from Kira’s grasp. The Selkath geneticist stumbled, but before either of us could reach him, the cyborg tore his creator apart.

“Go!” I shouted to Kira, “get them to surface!”

“No way,” she yelled back, “I’m not leaving you behind.”

“Just shut up and kill the thing!” Jakarro growled and fired at the cyborg.

So we did.

* * *

 

_Theron Shan_

“… I just think it might put everyone at ease if you ditched the lightsaber,” I told Lana as Aryelle, Kira and friends entered the conference room.

The annoying woman smiled at me, and replied, “Is that really necessary? Surely I’m not as intimidating as you imply.”

“Nah,” Carsen interrupted, “it’s just Sith and lightsabers… never a good combination when we’re around.”

“Kira.” Aryelle chided quietly, then she looked at me, “Theron?”

“Allow me to introduce Lana Beniko: dedicated Imperial citizen, and fully armed Sith Lord,” I said, somehow managing not to roll my eyes.

“I doubt the Hero of Tython needs to worry about that,” Lana added.

It looked like Kira was about to fire off a shot of her own when Aryelle put a hand on her arm, quieting her. The Jedi Master looked at me then at Lana and said, “No, we don’t, do we, Kira?”

“No. No we don’t, Master,” Carsen said, never taking her eyes off Lana.

“Lana’s here because Arkous manipulated her and her people, same as Darok did to us,” I told them, hoping to defuse the situation. “She’s already shared a lot of good intel. Between that and your work in the lab we can confirm that Arkous and Darok really are working together, trying to manipulate both sides for some third party.”

“They’re Revanites; members of the Order of Revan, a secretive cult that’s had its claws in the Empire for many years. It seems they have pierced the Republic now, as well,” Lana added as I tried to hide my disgust. The fact that my Jedi Knight turned Sith Lord ancestor had a _cult_ based around him hadn’t gone over well when Lana first told me. And didn’t improve the second time around.

“You sound surprised, Lord Beniko,” Aryelle said, but Lana shook her head.

“Just Lana, please. I find titles simply get in the way.”

“Lana, then, but it still doesn’t answer my question.”

“Originally the Revanites believed that Revan went to Dromund Kaas after he was redeemed, fought the Emperor and took his throne.” For a moment Lana looked as disgusted as I felt. “but in more recent times, the Dark Council imprisoned ‘Emperor Revan’, and ruled in the Emperor’s name.”

“Did anyone else get a headache from just hearing that?” Kira asked, “because it’s got to be one of the craziest conspiracy theories of all time.”

“And it doesn’t explain why a Republic SpecForce officer would throw in with them,” I said, silently fighting off that exact headache, “plus it seems Darok isn’t the only one. The Revanites have highly placed moles in both the Republic and the Empire, which means we have no idea who we can really trust.”

“Well, at least we have a solid target to go after now,” Aryelle commented, “That should make things…”

“Droid!” Jakarro howled as he stalked into the conference room, “tell them this is boring and I don’t care about any of it!”

As soon as I took a good look at him, I realized why Aryelle was so surprised about C2-D4’s arrest record.

“Uh… my master, the incomparable star captain Jakarro…” the droid head began.

“… Is more interested in action than discussion,” Aryelle offered, “and this is his translator, C2-D4.”

“Former interpreter for Her Imminence, Queen Lina of…”

“Yeah, we got that earlier,” I glared at the droid as the headache kicked up another notch and I transferred my glare to Jakarro, “ _all_ of it.”

“Fine,” he snarled, “if you understand me, the understand this: The Pub and Imp left me to die—twice! I won’t rest until I’ve tasted their blood!”

Great. Just perfect.  A big, blood thirsty walking carpet. _This_ is why I work alone.

“I saw your list of known accomplices earlier,” Lana said to the Wookie, drawing my attention back to the conversation. “quite impressive. Could any of them help us find where these traitors might be hiding?”

_Smooth, Lana, very smooth._

Jakarro looked at her for a moment, then nodded and said, “Of course. But _I_ do the talking, understand?”

“Of course, and if Theron agrees?”

I nodded. At least this was turning into something that resembled a workable plan. “Go ahead and get the ship prepped. I’ll cover our tracks and catch up.” As soon as Lana and Jakarro left I glanced at Kira. “Could you give us a minute?” I asked her.

She looked at me then Aryelle, and said, “Okay, I’ll meet you back at the _Shrike_ Master.”

Kira disappeared out the door, but before I could say anything, Aryelle sagged against the table, looking exhausted. Instinctively, I moved to steady her. My hands went to her hips as she looked up at me, and I felt her warmth through the fabric of her robe. We were only centimeters apart…

I jerked back before I did anything incredibly stupid, and saw Aryelle blink as if coming out of a trance.

“It’s probably a good thing we’re going separately,” I said, trying hard to pretend as if I hadn’t been a breath away from kissing her, but as soon as the words were out of my mouth, I realized how they sounded. “I mean, if the Revanites have put a tail on us, they won’t know who to follow.”

“You’re right,” Aryelle replied, looking everywhere but me. “anything else?”

This was getting more awkward by the minute.

“As soon as we get something from Jakarro’s ‘associates’ I’ll contact you. We can meet at Carrick Station’s cantina.” Nice and public so little possibility for another near miss.

“That’s fine,” she said, then gestured to the door, “I better go…”

“Yeah,” I agreed, “stay safe.”

“You too, Theron.”

* * *

 

_Aryelle Thrace_

I tried not to think about what had nearly happened as _Shrike_ headed out of the Manaan System. I sat in my bridge chair running diagnostics, but I couldn’t shake the memories.

I hadn’t needed the Force to see what was going through Theron’s mind. I saw it all in his eyes, felt it in the slight tremor of his fingers on my hips. The warmth of his breath on my face. What’s more, I wanted him just as badly as he seemed to want me.

“Master?”

I shook myself and turned to look at the bridge hatch. “Something I can do for you, Kira?”

“Yeah,” she replied as she moved to settle into the co-pilot’s seat. Kira looked at me for a moment and shrugged, “just to make sure I have this right; we’re now working with a Sith, who’s not Scourge, and Super Spy, who happens to be the son of Grand Master Satele, to fight a cult dedicated to Revan which is somehow manipulating the Republic and Empire for an unknown purpose.”

Even with everything weighting on me, I had to smile at the indignation in her voice. “Yes, that about sums it up, Kira, but would you please not call Theron that,” I said as I felt myself flush at the simple mention of his name.

Kira narrowed her eyes and asked, “did something happen after I left?”

“No,” I replied, sounding miserable, “absolutely nothing happened.”

She just stared uncomprehendingly at me for a moment, then it hit her:

“You and Theron?” Her eyes widened as she shook herself. “Wow… I never saw this coming, boss.”

“There is no ‘me and Theron,’” I told her as I struggled to find my center again. This was the exact reason why the Order frowned on attachments. It was an easy commandment to follow, if you’re not being tempted. And for the first time in my life I was. Severely.

“But you want there to be, right?” I nodded and she continued, “so what about Super Sp... er, Theron?

My mind snapped back to what I saw in his eyes.

“I think he does, yes,” I told her quietly.

We sat there for a moment in silence then Kira spoke:

“For what it’s worth, I like him, and no matter what you decide, I’ve got your back, Aryelle.”

Hearing that lifted my spirits a little. I still didn’t know what I was going to do about my feelings, but having Kira’s support made things look brighter.

“Thanks, Kira,” I said, “I appreciate it.”

* * *

 

_Theron Shan_

The work with Jakarro, D4, and Lana went smoother than I expected. I wouldn’t call us a well-oiled machine, but we managed without tripping over each other too much. Within a couple weeks we’d manage to develop some promising leads. Promising enough that I felt confident about updating Master Thrace on the situation.

Master Thrace… Aryelle… I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her since Manaan. I couldn’t count the nights I spent staring at the bulkheads of Jakarro’s ship trying not to. I found myself running scenarios of what could have happened. Some were pretty innocent, others, not so much.

Even worse was this dull sense of absence I felt, like a limb gone numb. 

Taken all together it was enough to make me question my sanity, but when I saw her waiting for me those concerns vanished.

“There you are,” I said as I walked up behind her. She turned around and when she saw me the tension in her eyes and her stance faded.

“Theron,” she replied as she walked over. She stood there for a moment, searching my face, then she smiled. “I’m glad you’re in one piece… You look… I mean… it’s a good look for you.”

It probably says something about me that I felt a little bit better seeing that whatever was going on between us threw Aryelle off balance as well. And because I never know when to leave well enough alone I said, “then I’ll do my best to stay that way.” She flushed, but when her eyes caught mine, I found myself wondering if she’d been thinking about me. And if those thoughts were any more innocent than mine.

I motioned to a booth as I shoved those thoughts into a mental box. As we settled in, I managed to find my professionalism again and said, “Our first few interviews with Jakarro’s ‘friends’ went well, believe it or not. They’ve pointed us to some antique smugglers from the Exchange, see if the Revanites have gone for any other Rakata tech.”

“I’d keep an eye on Czerka as well,” she told me, “That cyborg reminded me of the Rakata tech I found in one of their labs on Tatooine.”

I nodded, “I read Agent Fauler’s reports on that one. Czerka may be a little more difficult to crack, but you’ve got a point.”

Aryelle studied me for a moment and asked, “What’s bothering you? I mean besides the fact we potentially have a cyborg army in the hands of a couple of cultists.”

“Actually, it’s the cult that bothers me the most,” I admitted, not bothering to hide my disgust. “The Order of Revan. My family has even more pull than I thought.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. “You’re related to Revan?”

“You never heard that story? Bastila Shan, Revan’s great Jedi love? The name made it all the way down to me, even if the Force didn’t.”

I really don’t have any issues about this. Honest.

Shoving all that aside I tried to get back on topic. “Look: Revan was a wild card, and his crazy cult of followers is bound to be the same.” That same protectiveness welled up and I couldn’t help myself as I added, “Highly-trained bravado aside, we’re up against some long odds here. Are you sure you still want to be dragged into all of this?”

She was silent for a moment, studying her hands as they rested on the tabletop before looking back up at me. When she did, her eyes were dark but with that strange look I’d seen before.

“I’m not going anywhere, Theron,” she said in a low, intense voice. “You can count on that.”

My pulse began to race as I responded in kind:

“Teams aren’t my usual style, but I think I could get used to this one.”

We watched each other for a long moment, and I was on the verge of saying more when a couple of giggling Twi’lek girls passed too close to the booth. The sound shattered the tension between us and I figured it was as good a time as any for a tactical retreat.

“All right, I better get back to Lana and Jakarro before they do… anything. I’ll get in touch as soon we get something concrete.”

“I understand,” she said then she gave me a small wry smile, “be careful, Theron. I’d like to see you again, preferably in one piece.”

“I’ll do my best,” I replied. “You do the same, Aryelle.”

“I will, Theron. I promise.”

I left the cantina trying to focus on what came next, but all I could think of was this thing between me and Aryelle. I’d been hoping what nearly happened on Manaan was a fluke. That it was nothing more than a brief flirtation.

I’d been wrong, and now I was all sorts of indecisive about what to do next.

_Deal with the crazy cultists first, Theron, then you can figure it out._

This is why I try not to have a personal life.


End file.
